Gardai in Limerick have successfully applied to the District Court to have the four-year-old dog destroyed.

And in a separate case, a rottweiler owned by a criminal from the Southill area of the city is also to be destroyed after complaints.

The application to have the Alsatian destroyed was made after Gda Donal Walsh was forced out of work for three weeks after the animal attacked him on Hyde Road.

Senior city council personnel also testified before Judge Eamon O'Brien that they received more than a dozen complaints concerning the Alsatian this year.

The seized dog is known as both 'Shotgun' and 'Diamond'.

Gda Walsh said he encountered it while on patrol on September 22. He was attacked "without warning" and bitten twice in the leg. He told the court he had to use his baton to fend off the dog. The court heard that the owner -- a young boy -- was present at the time of the attack and ran off afterwards.

The criminal's girlfriend objected to the application to have the dog put down.

She said her son was "very upset" when his pet was seized.

Judge O'Brien granted the application to have the dog destroyed. In a separate application, the judge ordered that a rottweiler owned by a criminal in Southill be put down.